Saw cotton-gin



( No Model.)

I i 2 Sheets-Sheath H. ,J.'DAVI S-, J. RICE 8; J., G. Mo'DANIEL.

I SAW GOTTON GIN.

No. 504,023; Patented Aug. 29, 1893.

1 no Model.) J V I H. J. DAVIS," J.. RICE & J. GJ MODANIEL; SAWCOTTQNGIN.

N0. 504,023. Pate'ntd Aug; 29", 1893,

5 2 S'heets'- -S heet" 2.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY J. DAVIS, JOHN RICE, AND JOHN C. MODANIEL, OF IRON CITY, ALABAMA.

SAW COTTON-GIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 504,023, dated August29, 1893.

Application filed April 29, 1893. $erial No. 472,396- (Ilo model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRY J. DAVIS, JOHN Rica, and JOHN C. MODANIEL,citizens of the United States, residing at Iron Oity,in the county ofCalhoun and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Saw Cotton-Gins; and we do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same.

This invention relates to improvements in cotton gins, and moreparticularly to a class of gins recognized in the art as saw gins.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a double or triple ginadapted to effectually take off or strip the cotton from the" seed andat the same time separate motes, dirt, &c., therefrom, so as to insure agood sample or quality of cotton and at the same time accomplish agreater amount of work in a given time than is possible with gins of theordinary construction.

A further object is to provide a double gin which shall be simple inconstruction, inexpensive in manufacture and efficient and reliable inuse, and which while possessing'all the advantages of a rapid gin shallnot be subject to the objections incident to the use of gins of the samegeneral character constructed as heretofore proposed.

The invention will first be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, which form a part of this specification, and then particularlypointed out in the claims at the end of this description.

Referring to the drawings by letters of reference, Figure 1 represents aside elevation of a machine embodying our invention. Fig. 2 is avertical longitudinal sectional elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is adiagrammatic side elevation illustrating a modification of theinvention. Fig. 4 is a detailed sectional view of one of the brushes;and Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line V-V of Fig. 4.

It has heretofore been proposed to construct a cotton gin having two ormore sets of saws and brushes, the object being to produce a ginwhichwill do a great amount of work in a comparatively small period of time;but in such gins no provision is made for the escape of motes,dirt andother foreign matter which is carried along with the lint, thussacrificing quality for quantity. Another serious disadvantage in thepractical operation of such gins results from the method of gearing orbelting the saw and brush shafts, the belts being so arranged as tocause a heavy downward pull on the brush-bearings, and owing totherapidity of motion required such bearings are liable to be set onfire with most disastrous results, it being practically impossible toprevent total destruction of a gin when lint cotton takes fire. Toovercome these and other defects in previously proposed constructions wehave devised certain improvements in the general arrangement of partsand improved features of construction as will.

now be described. I

The saws A, and A, of the upper and lower gins, respectively, may be ofthe form shown or any suitable construction, the upper saws beingpreferably larger than the lower ones, and arranged to rotate in adirection opposite to the direction of rotation of the brushes B, 'B',which latter will be hereinafter more particularly described. The fluesC, C, which communicate with the upper and lower compartments of theframe-work or casing of the respective gins, may converge into a mainflue G which may-discharge into a condenser in the ordinary manner, or,if desired, the dues O, 0, may discharge into separate condensers so asto assort the lintinto different grades; the lint being forced throughthe lines to the condenser by a draft of air caused by the rotation ofthe brushes. The converging portions of the fines which extend beyondthe gin frame or casing are made separable from the portions thereofcommunicating directly with the respective compartments-of the gin so asto be readily detached for the purpose of storage or packing fortransportation and to permit the attachment of separate flues, ifdesired.

D, denotes a traveling belt or carrier which is interposed between theupper and lower compartments and is adapted to catch all motes and otherforeign matter falling with the lint from the upper gin and to dischargethe same into the roll-box of the lower gin. The ribs of the upper ginmay be separated to about the same extent that is usual in gins ofordinary construction so that more or less of the motes and otherobjectionable matter will pass between such ribs and fall onto themote-carrier D; but the ribs of the lower gin are placed nearer togetherthan is usual in common gins, so that only very small motes can passbetween them. may consist of three (more or less) belts with transverseslats or strips of Wood having a V-shaped cross-section secured theretoso as to travel with the belts, the slats being separated very slightlyto permit sand, dirt, &c., to pass between the same. This carrier-isplaced upon cylinders or rollers D ,D which are suitably j ournaledtransversely of the frame; the former being arranged near and above themouth of the roll-box A and the latter in rear of the inlet to the flueC, so as to adapt the carrier to catch all motes and foreign matter towhich any lint might adhere and discharge the same into said rollbox sothat such lint could be removed by the second set'of saws.

A band-wheel or pulley D on the projecting end of the shaft D isconnected by a belt D, with a band-wheel or pulley on a countershaft K,which latter is geared to the main driving-shaft so as to impart. motionto the mote-carrier as will be presently described.

E, E, denote mote-boards one of which is placed under each of the finesC, U, and which are adapted to be adjusted either forward or back so asto vary the size of the discharge opening beneath the brushes at will.These boards preferably extend across the full width of the gin parallelwith the brushes and below the same and may be readily adjusted in suchmanner as to regulate the discharge of the motes and other objectionablematter falling from the brushes as may be desired and necessary in theoperation of the machine.

F, F, denote whipper-boards one of which is arranged under each of thebrushes just below the saws, and they are adapted to be adjusted towardor from the brushes as may be desired. These boards are adapted to knockthe motes, dirt and trash loose from the lint cotton so as to cause theformer to fall through the opening between the whipper-board and themote-board, while the lint is forced on through the flues by the currentof air caused by the revolving brush. The \vhipper-boards extend acrossthe gin-frame parallel with the brushes and in proximity thereto and arepreferably formed with concave faces conforming to the convexity of thebrush and are each provided on their lower depending edges with a flatstrip or band of sheet iron or other suitable material as at f, f, whichstrips are adjustably secured to the lower edges of the boards bysuitable fastenings such as set screws passing through slots in thestrips so that they may be moved toward or from the brushes as occasionmay re- The mote-carrierquire. The adjustment of the whipperboards maybe accomplished by means of set screws f passing through slotted ears orbrackets f projecting from the lower sides of the boards as shown, or inany proper manner.

The gin ribs G, G, may be of the usual or any preferred construction,but in order to prevent wear each may be provided with a steel plate g,having beveled edges and fitted in a corresponding dovetailed groove orrecess in the upper face of the rib, to which it is secured by a setscrew so as to be readily detached and renewed when worn, thereby savingthe cost of renewing the entire rib.

H, II, denote regulating plates or seedboards of ordinary constructionfitting in the respective roll-boxes A A and adapted to be adjusted andsecured in the desired position by means of the toothed bars or racks h,h, respectively, in the usual manner.

I, denotes the main driving-shaft which may be located beneath thefloorou which the gin is placed. 1, denotes a band-wheel or pulley uponsaid shaft 1, and 1 a band or belt for imparting motion from said shaftto the ginsaws, brushes and mote-carrier. The belt 1 passes from theband-wheel I over a similar ban d-wheel K, upon a counter-shaft K, whichmay be mounted in adjustable bearing upon the gin frame or casing in anyproper manner. From the band-wheel K, the belt passes under a smallband-wheel or pulley l), on the shaft b, of the upper brush B; thenceover a larger band-wheel a, on the shaft a, of the upper set of saws A;thence under a small band-wheel or pulley 6 on the shaft 19 of the lowerbrush B; thence over a larger bandwheel a on the shaft a of the lowerset of saws A, back to the band-Wheel I. By this arrangement motion willbe imparted from the main driving-shaft to the brushes and saws so as tocause the same to rotate in opposite directions, and at the same time,by means of the cross-belt D motion will be imparted to the mote-carrierD. The several band-wheels and belts may be and are preferablyduplicated at the opposite side of the machine so as to prevent theshafts from being pulled out of true, or line, which is liable to occurwhen only one set of bandwheels or pulleys and belts is used at the sideof the machine. It will also be observed that by the describedarrangement the weight upon the brush bearings, (the brushes beingrequired to revolve at a much more rapid rate of speed than the saws) ispartially lifted so as to relieve the bearings and prevent the same frombecoming heated so as to set the gin on fire, which is a very importantadvantage of this method of belting.

L, L, denote semi-circular casings which are fitted over the respectivebrushes B, B, and partially encircle the same, so as to exclude the airfrom the brush except at the exposed lower portion thereof where itisnecessary to create a current of air to carry the IIO lint up the flue.By thus housing the brush closely within the casing and excluding theair therefrom it is enabled to do its work with more case and in a moreperfect manner than if a current of air were allowed to be set up pastthe point of delivery of the lint from the brushes into the chute orflue, and the forcing of the lint into and up th flue is alsofacilitated. A I

The brushes 13,13, being required to run at a very high rate of speedany lint falling upon the shaft will wrap around the same and as itaccumulates thereon will become heated by the heat from the bearings ofthe brushes and is liable to set the gin on fire. We therefore providelint and dust guards, which may be constructed as follows: Referringparticularly to Figs. 4 and 5, at each end of the brush is placed asheet metal or other suitable circular plate or disk B the periphery ofwhich projects slightly beyond the ends of the bristles orbrushes, asshown more clearly in Fig. 4. The plate B is en-.

circled by a second circular plate or disk B which may be formed insections for convenience of attachment, and has formed therewith orsecured to a projecting portion or rib on the inner face thereof acircular sectionalflat plate or ring B, which is adapted to overlap theperiphery of the disk B as shown in the last-mentioned figure, so as toeffectually house the end of the brush and prevent lint or dirt fromgetting access to the brush-shaft or bearings. The brushes arealso madeadjustable endw'ise upon the shaft by means of set screws entering thesleeves or hubs at the heads thereof to adapt the brush to be moved soas to cause all the bristles to be worn before re-filling the brush.This feature of construction, together with the housing on and aroundthe brush-head,

gives durability and safety in operation by protecting the bearings soas to prevent injury to the same or the gin by over-heating, and makesit possible to wear the brush entirely out before it is necessary tohave the same renewed.

The upper framework or casing supporting the upper gin is preferablymade separate from the lower framing so as to simply rest and be securedthereon, for convenience of handling, storage and transportation.

When it is desired to provide three or more sets of saws, the same maybe accomplished by making the connections as illustrated in Fig. 3,wherein the belt 1 is shown passing from the band-wheel or pulley on themain driving-shaft successively over the several pulleys K a a and a,and under the smaller band-wheels or pulleys 19 ,11 and b of the saw andbrush shafts, respectively, in a man-- ner similar to that describedwith reference to Fig. 1; an additional crossed belt D being providedfor driving an additional mote-carrier, as will be readily understoodfrom the drawings without further description.

The operation of the invention will be readilyunderstood from theforegoing description taken in connection with the accompanyin gdrawings. The regulating plate or seed-board H, in the upper roll-boxbeing properly adjusted and the machine put in motion, the raw cotton isfed into said box, and the saws therein remove the best andlongest-fibered'lint from the seeds. The lint is delivered from thebrush B, into'the fiue C, while the partially ginned seed drops into theroll-box A The finer saws in the latter box separate "the remainingportion of the lint from the seeds, and the same is removed by the brushB, and delivered into the flue O. The motes, dirt andlother foreignmatter passing through the grate of the upper gin drop onto themote-carrier D, and are carried thereby and dumped into the roll-boxAthe finer particles of dirt and sandbeing permitted to pass between theslats of the carrier and fall onto the casing encircling the lowerbrush. The lint from the respective brushes may be delivered into thechute or flue G which is common to both compartments of the gin, andthence into a condenser, or the lint from the respective compartmentsmay be conducted into separate condensers, if desired. It will thus beseen that the gin while working more rapidly than gins of ordinaryconstruction, also produces a finer quality of cotton by separating themotes and objectionable matter from the lint; the work beingaccomplished partly in one roll-box and the remainder in a lower box orboxes. Each box is provided with a grate and saws'espetherein, eachprovided with a roll-box -ar-- ranged so as to adapt one to deliver intothe other, a flue for each roll-box, grates and saws of different sizesor grades for the respective boxes, a brush for each set of saws, amotecarrier'arranged below the upper brush and means for rotating saidbrushes and saws in opposite directions and simultaneously impartingmotion to said mote-carrier, substantially as described.

2. In a cotton-gin, the combination with the frame-work or casing havingthe upper and 'lower compartments therein and provided with a flue foreach compartment, of the upper and lower roll-boxes one of whichisadapted to deliver into the other, a grate for each box, the revolvingsaws projecting through said grates, the oppositely revolving brushes,the whipper-boards arranged below said brushes, the mote-boards andmeans for directing the motes falling from the upper board into thelower roll box substantially as described.

3. In adouble or triple cotton-gin,the combination with the roll-boxeshaving the grates and regulating boards therein, the revolving saws, theoppositely revolving brushes, and the traveling mote-carrierinterposedbetween the upper and lower brushes so as to deliver into the lowerroll-box, and means for imparting motion to said saws, brushes andcarrier, substantially as described.

4. In a cotton-gin, the combination with the upper and lower roll-boxes,of the revolving saws, the oppositely revolving brushes, thewhipper-boards, the mote-boards, the motecarrier below the upper brush,and mechanism forimparting motion to said saws, brushes and carrier,substantially as described.

5. Ina double or triple cotton-gin, the combination with the frame-workor casing havin g the upper and lower compartments therein provided witha common flue, of a roll-box for each compartment, one adapted todeliver into the other, grates of different sizes for the respectiveroll-boxes, revolving saws of different sizes mounted in saidcompartments, revolving brushes mounted in rear of the saws, theadjustable whipper-boards arranged in close proximity to said brushes,the adjustable mote-boards arranged below the brushes and means fordischarging the motes falling from the upper brush into the lower rollbox, substantially as described.

6. In a double or triple saw-gin,the combination with the upper andlower revolving brushes and oppositely revolving saws, of theintermediate traveling belt or mote-carrier, the adjustablewhipper-board, and the adj ustable mote-board arranged and adapted tooperate substantially as described.

7. In a double or triple cotton-gin, the combination with the frame-workor casing having two or more compartments therein, each provided with aflue, of a roll-box for each compartment, one adapted to deliver intothe other, revolving saws and oppositely revolving brushes for eachroll-box, and an intermediate mote-carrier adapted to deliver into thelower roll-box, substantially as described.

8. In a double or triple cotton-gin, the combination with the frame-workor casing having two or more compartments therein provided with a commonflue, of a roll-box for each compartment one being adapted to deliverinto the other, revolving saws and oppositely revolving brushes for eachroll-box, a mote-carrier arranged between the upperand lowercompartments, whipper-boards for the brushes, and adjustable mote-boardsfor regulating the discharge of motes &c., from said compartments,substantially as described.

9. In a cotton-gin, the combination with the revolving brush, of thelint and dust guard comprising the circular plate or disk revolving withthe brush, and the stationary plate or ring encircling said disk andprovided with a corresponding flat circular plate or ring overlappingthe periphery of said disk so as to shield and protect the brush-shaftand bearings, substantially as described.

10. A cotton-gin comprising a frame-work or casing having two or morecompartments therein one arranged above the other and provided with acommon flue, a roll-box for each compartment one adapted to deliver intothe other, and each provided with a grate, revolving saws of dilferentsizes for the respective compartments projecting through said gratesoppositely revolving brushes arranged in proximity to said saws, theadjustable whipper-boards having concave faces presented to the brushes,the mote-carrier adapted to deliver into a lower roll-box, theadjustable mote-boards, and means for imparting motion to said saws,brushes and carrier, substantially as described.

11. In a double or tripple cotton-gin, the combination with the upperand lower rollboxes, the revolving saws and their oppositely revolvingbrushes, and means for directing the motes falling from the upper brushinto the lower roll box of a main driving-shaft having a band wheelthereon, a counter-shaft carrying a similar band-wheel, a baud-wheel oneach saw-shaft, smaller band-wheels on'the brush-shafts, and an endlessbelt or band pass ing from the band-wheel on said main shaft over theband-wheel on the counter and sawshafts, and under the band-Wheels ofreduced size on the brush-shafts so as to lift and relieve the bearingsof the latter shafts, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

HENRY J. DAVIS. JOHN RICE. JOHN G. MCDANIEL.

\Vitnesses:

C. PARKER, JOHN Dt ENGLISH.

ICC

